Christuskirche

The Christuskirche on the northern edge of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz was built between 1905 and 1907 according to the plans of architect Otto Kuhlmann from Charlottenburg (a native of Detmold). The church, whose floor plan was determined by the shape of the building site, is a neo-Gothic nave with short, wide cross arms and a polygonal chancel. The choir is adjoined by the sacristy and a meeting room. On the eastern narrow side is the slender tower (65.50 m high) with a steep pyramid roof, sound holes in the belfry and the main portal at the front.

The base of the church is made of granite, the façade surfaces are made of volcanic tuff and the wall coverings, cornices and decorations are made of sandstone. The intersecting, steep pitched roofs of the nave and the cross arms, the ridge turret, the choir roof and the roof pyramid are covered with slate. Stained glass closes the pointed arched windows. Inside, there are galleries on three sides. The church has seating for 1,180 people. The crypt, in neo-Romanesque style, was created at the request of Grafregenten Ernst, who died in 1904, and served as a princely crypt.

The tower of the Christuskirche in conjunction with the tower silhouette of the Erlöserkirche on the market square, the Martin Luther Church on Schülerstraße and the Residenzschloss is of particular importance as an individual component of Detmold's city skyline. Of the historicist churches in Detmold, the Christuskirche is the largest and most artistically valuable, thanks to its balanced proportions, the careful design of all the stonework and the good acoustics.

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